Ghost of Winter watched the battle unfold from a further rooftop. She hadn’t moved since the fight started and her body was already twitching after resisting the urge to join the first team.
Gods knew how badly she wanted to join it and protect her little sister. It was her duty as the older sister to do so, after all.
However, much as she wanted to, Ghost of Winter had come to terms with the fact that her little sister was a natural leader. And decided to let her take the lead alongside Valentine Artemis; someone she didn’t trust at all.
Artemis and Feng were two of the strongest houses in the entire world.
But…
For as long as she remembers, the two houses have never been on good terms because of how different they were in general. Like Luna, Valentine was an unblessed with great combat talent and an affinity to sense qi. There was nothing more to say about him other than the fact that he was viciously strong despite not having enhanced physical abilities.
‘It's time.’
With a sigh, Ghost of Winter cleared her mind and moved her eyes to the ascender next to her.
The ascender had navy blue hair, and a pale beautiful face and was clad in silver nanoskin armor. In her left hand, the beautiful woman carried her ideal weapon, a silver lance that was stained with black blood. She was the only one here who had participated in the first fight.
“It’s time. The cursed beast’s numbers have fallen.” Ghost of Winter announced her observation. Her voice was cold and balanced as she said the next sentence:
“Monic, let it rain…” she gave one last look at the clear sky as Monic stepped forward and raised her spear.
Its tip started to gleam with an unearthly light and everyone took a step back away from her.
Without saying a single word, Monic opened the first gate, then the second which caused the wind to suddenly pick up.
Dark cumulonimbus clouds began to appear and churn violently in the sky. And soon, the world was swallowed by darkness as the black clouds amassed, their presence oppressive and ominous.
The winds howled like tormented spirits, sweeping away the lingering dust and debris. This was the full manifestation of her Aura, the concept of Elements.
Despite the immense strain that twisted her features, Monic’s Aura granted her dominion over the weather, allowing her to summon tempests at will if she had enough zenshi.
In what felt like minutes, the red city of verge was shrouded in an unnatural twilight, as if the very essence of night had descended. Black and red lightning crackled menacingly across the sky, illuminating the desolation below with brief, sinister flashes.
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Then, the impossible happened; raindrops began to fall. First tentatively, then with a relentless, pounding force.
In moments, a deluge transformed the parched desert into a storm-wracked battlefield, the rain mingling with the blood of the fallen.
As the storm grew stronger, Monic’s face paled even more as she fought to sustain the full force of her ability. The summoner was visibly struggling, her breath coming in ragged gasps. The storm was powerful, but it was also draining her zenshi at an incredible pace. She could affect the very state of nature to a certain extent as a summoner. Beyond that limit, her second gate could shatter completely.
Noticing the strain on her face, Ghost of Winter approached and patted the ascender’s shoulder. "Monic, can you hold?" she asked, her voice softer but filled with concern.
Monic gritted her teeth, eyes blazing with determination. "I can...and I will," she replied, pushing through the pain as her reserves plummeted.
“Thanks for everything.”
With that, Ghost of Winter proceeded to open her second gate. She didn’t wait for a signal to join the fray; she felt the shift in the air the moment the cursed soldiers breached her sensory range. She could sense their energy cores through her connection to zenshi.
The same occurred to every summoner and each one called forth their summon.
At the same time, Ghost of Winter’s entire form began to shift. Her translucent blade materialized as her skin grew paler, turning as white as snow. Her silver hair too turned a stark white and her grey eyes shined with an eerie brightness as she advanced.
The water around her solidified as she switched to her incorporeal form. Both she and her sword became an ethereal fog that froze everything it touched.
Behind the thick fog, divine creatures marched forward with their summoners running behind them. A flaming horse wreathed in silver flames, a massive crocodile that could turn into an apparition and phase through objects with its ascender, a giant bird of prey forged from metal, and two white serpents with unique abilities: one could spit acid, while the other could split into five equally powerful copies.
These serpents belonged to a pair of ascender twins who served House Feng.
Each cursed beast that dared to challenge the summons was ruthlessly torn apart by their overwhelming power. Their mission was clear…to annihilate the remaining cursed beasts and soldiers. Anything to distract the undead king.
As they pushed deeper into the battlefield, a portion of the fog condensed into a partially corporeal form. A translucent longsword flashed, striking a grotesque creature with three eyes and a humanoid body.
The creature had no chance to react before its body froze solid and shattered like perfect glass. This sword was more than just a weapon. It was an extension of her Aura—crafted from her mother’s Ice Aura and had the power to freeze anything it touched. Unfortunately, such a forged weapon could only be used by ice users.
Len moved through the battlefield with lethal grace, dispatching twenty more cursed beasts. Her movements were not as flawless as her sister’s, but they were equally deadly.
Her incorporeal form made her nearly untouchable as her icy presence turned her enemies into frozen statues.
Transformations were taxing, consuming vast amounts of zenshi each time the user shifted between their original state and another one. But Len’s exceptional reserves allowed her to maintain her form longer than most ascenders of her rank would. The only real challenge was the constant switching between her corporeal and incorporeal states, each shift requiring immense concentration and energy.
Each step she took was a testament to her resolve. And each enemy she felled, was a sign of her incredible strength. She was determined to ensure that they emerged victorious in this battle.
Suddenly, a shrill scream pierced the din of battle.
Ghost of Winter's heart skipped a beat as she scanned the battlefield, her eyes locking onto a nightmarish sight…
A massive cursed beast, unlike any she had ever seen, emerged from the darkness. Its body was covered in thick, armored scales that glistened with an unnatural sheen. Multiple eyes, glowing with malevolent intelligence, adorned its grotesque head.
With a roar that shook the earth, it charged toward her and her team.
“Everyone else spread out!” her command cut through the sound of falling rain. “Take down as many cursed soldiers as you can. We can’t risk losing after all those sacrifices. So be careful!”
She fully turned corporeal as the cursed soldier lunged at her. Its tail started cackling with dark energy as it prepared to strike at her. It then swung its armored tail down but Len rolled out of the way before the magic tail could do any harm. When it struck the earth, the energy from it exploded out of it and left a depression on the stone floor.
Gritting his teeth, Lena charged at the main body as it pulled back its tail. She brandished her weapon, but it easily dodged.
Its tail swung at her again. This time attacking from her right side.
To its surprise, the tail phased through her incorporeal state when she quickly switched forms. The thickness of her second form managed to blind the creature’s multiple eyes which widened at once when Lena’s weapon bypassed the scales and struck directly at its energy core.
The cursed beast stilled for a moment and turned into a frozen sculpture instantly before shattering into particles of ice.